The Stadium Theatre, located in Downtown Jerseyville, has been a fixture of the community for 75 years. Now run by Steve Dougherty, who also is the mayor of Litchfield, the venue continues to hit the mark with the region’s audiences.

Alex Heeb|The Telegraph

JERSEYVILLE — Litchfield Mayor Steve Dougherty, before he became a city official, seized the moment when AMC Theaters announced it was closing the Stadium Theatre several years ago, seemingly the end to an era.

But Dougherty, who since 1985 also owns a Litchfield theater, Westside Cinema, purchased the Stadium building, and made a tremendous investment into renewing the structure. Today, Stadium Theatre, which is turning 75 years old, offers moviegoers one of the best deals in the region, with $6 movies, and refreshments far below the cost of those sold by large theater chains. When Dougherty purchased the business, corporate movie theater companies were losing interest in small towns.

Stadium Theatre’s building, at 117 E. Pearl St., in Jerseyville, was constructed in 1942, and continues hosting generations of audiences.

“I was looking at purchasing three theaters — one in Taylorville, one in Jerseyville and one in Highland,” Dougherty said. “But, after looking at all three of them, I decided that Jerseyville was the best option, and it continues to be. I made the right choice there.”

The historic building impressed Dougherty.

“The Stadium had a lot of character,” he said. “It has a good presence, the marquis, and a good location Downtown, and I own ten buildings in Downtown Litchfield. I spent several years remodeling them and making them new again, and giving them the original character they had. And, I just believe in restoring the downtowns, where all the activity used to be until Walmart took over the world.”

One of the first changes Dougherty made at Jerseyville’s theater was the introduction of digital projection, which provides a superior picture quality and cuts down on staff demands. Dougherty also added surround sound and baffles, to improve the brick building’s acoustics.

Dougherty then constructed a new wing for the theater, giving it a third screen.

“With two screens, you can easily get stuck because when you book a movie, you’re signing a contract to show that movie at all showtimes, and most contracts run from two-to-four weeks,” he explained. “You can book a movie, but you’re really at the mercy of how it performs, and the contract. If you book a movie and it bombs, you may be stuck with that bomb for two-to-three weeks. So, it’s nice to have a smaller theater to push that one to bring in something fresh. If you had two bombs, you’d pretty much be out of business for a couple weeks.”

The new wing, along with the two refurbished screens, have been refitted with stadium seating. The new arrangement provides significantly more comfortable seats and more leg room.

“It was just packed with small seats,” Dougherty said of the old arrangement. “And if you had long legs, your knees were in the back of the seat. It had 220 seats, and now I believe it’s 110. Much more leg room, wider seats, people seem to enjoy that a lot better.”

In spite of the improved facility, however, the theater still faces challenges, most notably with a Hollywood elite that seem out of touch with small-town Americans’ desires, Dougherty noted. An over reliance on sequels, 3-D formatted pictures and films that simply fail to capture the public’s imagination have driven ticket sales downwards over the last year.

“The individual theater operator, or exhibitors, we’re struggling to retain some respect out here, because there’s a new generation of people in the movie industry making decisions that really don’t know the movie business,” Dougherty said.

Nevertheless, with Stephen King’s “It” having been a recent hit, and several projected hits (such as new Stars Wars and Thor movies) coming up before year’s end, Dougherty sees a bright spot, he said.

And, no matter how popular internet streaming becomes, Dougherty believes the big screen holds a special allure that will keep drawing people back.

“It’s an experience,” he said. “It’s a date night. It’s a reason to get out. With the anticipation of a new movie, it’s really amazing how many people want to be the first to see it.”

The Stadium Theatre, located in Downtown Jerseyville, has been a fixture of the community for 75 years. Now run by Steve Dougherty, who also is the mayor of Litchfield, the venue continues to hit the mark with the region’s audiences.

http://www.thetelegraph.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_Theater.jpegThe Stadium Theatre, located in Downtown Jerseyville, has been a fixture of the community for 75 years. Now run by Steve Dougherty, who also is the mayor of Litchfield, the venue continues to hit the mark with the region’s audiences. Alex Heeb|The Telegraph